The Train Just Kept on Runnin'
by lonelyflorist
Summary: What if you never went down with the ship? What if some days you wish you had?


_For Kiefer - the Stark to my Banner, the Rogers to my Barnes. Thank you for two years of muse sharing, I look forward to more 3_

It was snowing. Funny how even halfway around the world, the forests looked the same after a fresh snowfall - not that there were too many forests in Brooklyn, of course. He wrapped his arms around himself and exhaled, his breath hanging in the air before dissipating. He wasn't far from the little town where everyone else was waiting, but the kind of drunken, loud celebratory mood waiting back for him in the bar seemed wrong, somehow. Here they were in some little town that he couldn't even remember the name of, waiting to kill or be killed. War really was hell, and the reason he'd put himself in this particular one was back with everyone else.

Snow crunched behind him - footsteps. He knew who it was without even turning around; the slow, uncertain gait that even now, after everything, didn't seem like his feet were comfortable with the rest of him. "Hey," came the voice behind him. "Gosh, it's freezing out here. What are you doing all by yourself?"

"Thinking."

"You know, there's a lot of folks back home who would say that's not possible," was the response, teasing, but there was worry in his tone. "You all right? The fellas were wondering where you went."

He sighed again and looked up at the sky, fresh snowflakes landing on his face, where they disappeared. "It's pretty out here. Just wanted to enjoy the calm before the storm."

The door to the bar opened, and music began to drift out to them, bolstered by the many drunk voices singing along to it.

 _/We'll meet again.. Don't know where, don't know when, but I know we'll meet again, some sunny day.../_

"You want to dance with me?" He turned suddenly to look at his friend's surprised face. "You were never healthy enough to go to many dances at school. Something happens tomorrow, at least you got a dance. Even if it's with me."

The blonde sputtered, his eyes seeming to go through a number of emotions "Wh… nothing's going to happen. It's a pretty basic mission. The guys think -"

"You want to dance with me or not?" He arched a brow and grinned at him. Most of the girls around their little area of Brooklyn couldn't resist that smile, and though they questioned why he never seemed to pick one of them, he was so charming that it didn't matter. He extended a gloved hand towards his best friend, taking a step towards him.

It took only a few seconds for the other man to close the distance between them, but it felt like days. They were alone just on the edge of town, snow falling around them, and besides the music from the bar, it was silent - their own little slice of Heaven before everything went pear-shaped in the morning.

"Not used to you being so tall," he said with a weak smile. "You were usually barely at my shoulders."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I was there." He hesitated but put his arms around his friend's shoulders, breathing in the familiar scent of him. How many times had he been sick, curled up tight under a blanket and trying to get the coughing to stop for just a minute, finding whatever comfort he could in the warm body holding him so tightly.

 _/So could you please say hello to the folks that I know, tell them I won't be long? They'll be happy to know that as you saw me go, I was singing this song../_

They swayed slowly to the music, bodies pressed together, and after a while, hands drifted to hips. "You sure you don't want me to get a girl out here to dance with you? I'm sure you've danced with more of them, and -" He stepped on the brunette's foot and cursed. "Gosh, see? I'm terrible at this."

"It's fine. I want it to be you." He rested his cheek against the blonde's chest, closing his eyes. "You're doing fine. Stop worrying so much."

"My worrying keeps us alive. "

"C'mon, Cap. This could be our last night on Earth. Let your hair down a little."

He wrinkled his nose. "Don't call me that. I'll take it from a lot of people, but not you."

They stayed there dancing long after the song on the jukebox had changed, but neither of them seemed to notice or care. It wasn't until the bite of the cold got too much that they broke apart. "I'm freezing. You going to come in and have some beer with the fellas, or stay out here and think some more?"

"I'll come in. " His gaze flicked to the light from the bar only a little while away and his hand went to the back of the blonde's neck, pulling him down. This was it. It was now or never.

 _/We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when.. But I know we'll meet again some sunny day../_

The song started up again as their lips met for the first time, and for that moment, neither one of them remembered that they were cold at all. The blonde stepped apart, staring at his friend in bewilderment. "Wh.. what are you doing? " As much as he wanted to convince himself that it was just a kiss between friends, he knew that wasn't the truth. There were years of emotion in that kiss. "Look, I can't. I don't know what you think is going on, but.. That's wrong. We can't.. Just.. just put it out of your head. When we get back home, we're both gonna find ourselves a nice girl, settle down and raise our kids together like we always talked about, okay?"

He smiled sadly, letting his hand drop uselessly to his side. "Yeah. Chalk it up to … whatever you want to, pal. " He shook his head and took another step away, starting to head back into town. Now he really needed a drink.

"Are.. are we still okay?"

"Til the end of the line, buddy," he answered, turning around briefly to offer a halfhearted salute. "You and me."

It was snowing. It looked like there'd be a white Christmas this year after all. He sighed, trying to adjust the tubes in his nose.

"Grandpa?"

He turned to look at the boy sitting at the foot of the bed and laughed self-consciously. "Sorry, James. Your mind wanders when you get to be my age. What were we talking about?"

"You were telling me war stories about you and your friends. Did they all make it out of the war?" He leaned against the railing of the hospital bed, eyes wide with curiousity.

"Your mother's not going to like me telling you more war stories," he chuckled, patting the boy on the head and laying his head back on the pillow. Some days were better than others. Some days, it was hard to keep breathing. He looked around the room at the photographs that were scattered; memories of a life well lived. "Perhaps that's enough for one day. I'm a little tired."

"You said your best friend was there with you. How come I never met him?"

His heart lurched in his chest. "... he didn't make it home. They delivered a medal to his mother after the war. "

"Do you still miss him?"

"Every day."

"Do you wonder what would have happened if you kissed him back?"

His head snapped up and he looked at his grandson, trying to determine if the child had asked what he think he'd asked. "Wh.. sorry, what?"

"Do you think you would still be friends if he came back?"

Weakly, he laughed, resting his head back down. "Of course. You should go find your mother. I'm tired, I need to rest for a little while."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, Grandpa." The boy squeezed the older man's hand and ran out of the room to where the rest of his family were waiting, and then the room was silent except for the slow beeping of the machines, and… a song?

 _/We'll meet again… don't know where, don't know when… /_

He looked around, but there weren't any radios around, and the television wasn't on. For just a moment, his finger hovered over the call button, but then he saw where the music was coming from.

There he was, standing next to the window looking just the same as he did that night. The night before he'd died. "You going to dance with me, or leave me standin' here like an idiot on my own?"

"... you're here," he whispered, voice hoarse. Everything was getting a little fuzzy and dark except for him. The vision of his best friend was clearer than ever.

"Where else would I be? End of the line, remember? C'mon. " He extended his hand, grinning. "Let's go."

The first movement out of bed was hard, struggling against the wires and the tubes and everything else holding him there, but after a moment, he felt light. Lighter than air. There was beeping getting louder, and nurses yelling something, but that was behind him now. His hand slipped into the other man's and he closed his eyes, letting the light bathe over them. He pulled his friend close, breathing in the scent he'd thought he'd forgotten a long time ago, and closed his eyes. It was time.

 _/I know we'll meet again, some sunny day./_


End file.
